The country faces quite a tough challenge in the sphere of vocational education in the next five years. About 70 million more people have to be imparted skills as the country aims at increasing the percentage of workforce with formal skills through vocational education and training from 12 per cent to 25 per cent at the end of the Twelfth Plan.
Academics say the key is to offer pre-vocational courses in Class IX and X itself. As of now only eight per cent of high schools impart vocational education. It can be either an add-on or an alternative to work education or third language where applicable and students be encouraged to take up vocational education at the higher secondary level as only three per cent at this level take it up as against the required 25 per cent. Vertical mobility options for students opting for vocational education at the UG and PG level is also essential failing which students may not prefer it at the school level, academics emphasise.
According to the industry, training and skill development is critical for providing decent employment opportunities to the growing youth population and the curriculum has to be evolved in consultation with and active involvement of the industries which require the manpower.
“There is a shortage of skilled workmen when there is a huge demand with more and more factories being set up in Tamil Nadu and the industry has to import welders and fitters from other States, says Anand Sundaresan, managing director, Schwing Stetter Limited. “The boys we recruit from ITIs have not even seen a welding machine. They have basic theoretical knowledge but not employable. We have to train them,” he notes. Apart from the automobile industry, the construction industry in the State is also full of labourers from Bihar and Odisha.
The need for a standardised certificate is the biggest need of the hour in vocational education. The National Vocational Education Qualification Framework requires that the vocational educational institutions are registered under a body. Also, the institutes should offer a national certificate, says a senior official from the education deptartment.
“Often vocational education is even dismissed as good education. The reason is that there are many institutes offering a certificate which is not recognised and is of no value. Only when there is proper recognition for the various courses will there be better acceptance from the industry and thereby among students who will be willing to take up subsequent qualifications to update their knowledge,” he says.
The challenge, in All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) chairman S.S. Mantha's words, lies in that 80 per cent of new entrants to the workforce have no opportunity for skill training and the existing training capacity is only 3.1 million per annum as against 12.8 million joining the workforce. And the target has to be the country's unorganised sector which accounts for a 395 million workforce constituting 86 per cent of the total.
Recognising the need to certify vocational education, the University Grants Commission (UGC) standing committee has cleared a proposal to let the institutes offer B.Voc, a degree in vocational education from the next academic year. The Centre will also be launching a sub-mission on polytechnics through which over 1,000 polytechnics will be opened in the next five years. This is part of the plan to expand and overhaul the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Industrial Training Centres (ITCs) through public private partnership.
Skill development will be a challenge on multiple fronts to sustain the high growth.
